Friday, September 16, 2011

Round Top roundup!!

It's that time of year again!!

Round Top's Antique Show is only 1 week away! Can you tell how excited I am?

If you're not familiar with Round Top, let me enlighten you.

Round Top began almost 30 years ago (in it's tiny town of now 81 people!) as a TRUE antique trade show. Think estate jewelry, chandeliers, silver and such. But over the years a ton of “me too” shows (featuring anything & everything other than antiques) have sprang up in surrounding areas. 4 small towns: Round Top, Warrenton, Carmine and Shelby now make up the main event. So much that people may say they're going to "Round Top" for the weekend, and not actually shop IN Round Top.

How big is Round Top?? No one actually knows. The last calculation accounted for over thirty-five separate shows hosting over 2,500 dealers! It's absolutely crazy. There are tents and tables set up as far as you can see covered with every household good you can possibly imagine! Furniture, plants, dishes, window panes, iron works, benches, jewelry, road signs, hardware, puppies, clothes, birdhouses, mirrors, rugs, collectables, candles, JUNK, barstools, beds, paintings, old desks...you get the idea! Anything and EVERYTHING.

It's every woman's dream & every husbands nightmare!

But let me reiterate "JUNK". There is a TON of it! You'll walk by some tents bewildered by some of the stuff they're trying to sell. But "junk" is also the term my sweet husband uses for most of the goodies I come home with! Weathered & beaten treasures that I plan to paint, improve or just leave as is.

Here are just a few things that have made it home with me...

Shutters: After power washing and spray painting, they now house artwork

Pumpkins: They were already painted. The urn is from Sam's Club.

Twin beds: Painted and distressed

The blue ladder: left it dressed, just power washed it

The 2 topiaries

Lindsay's dresser: painted and distressed. What a deal!

So when is Round Top? The "antique weekend" traditionally occurs the first full weekend of April and October each year. TRUE antique lovers flock to Round Top in search of their expensive goodies. But the shows in surrounding towns (like Warrenton) actually last for 2 weeks. Years ago, vendors began setting up their stuff the week before the show during what they called the "preview weekend" and so many people showed up early to shop that the name stuck. Here is a link to the calendar, showing which booths are open during preview weekend and which are open during antique weekend. Most of them now cross over into both weeks.

Where to begin? Unless you love real china & silver, skip all of the antique tents and head straight to the new stuff that looks old. That's where the good deals are made. When Lindsay & I go, we spend 95% of our time in Warrenton. Drive straight through Carmine & Round Top and don't even start looking for a field to park in until you get to Zapp Hall.

What to expect: Wear comfortable shoes. Bring cash! Some places take credit cards but will bargain more if you offer cash. Parking is $5. Bring a list of thing your looking for & your measuring tape. Take bottled water. Bring a truck with bungee cords for all your treasures. Bring an open mind. And leave your kids and pets at home. :) It's just too chaotic.

So have I convinced you yet? Do you have it on your calendar?

Get some girlfriends together and make a trip of it. You won't be disappointed!

4 comments:

We leave next weekend!!!! I just can't wait. If you are there Saturday, we will be behind Clutter for our 5:00 review of the day. Wine and cheese included, come join us. We are going to start at Warrenton and work our way back towards Carmine. We will be staying in Giddings. Did I mention we leaave next WEEK!!